Rotary explosive-engine.



. PATENTED DEC. 20,1904.

W. I. SPANGLBR. ROTARY BVXPLOSI'VE ENGINE.

' APPLICATION FILED JULY 13. 1903.

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PATENTED DEG. 20,1904,

- No. 778,082. v

w. I. SPANG'LER.

- ROTARY EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 13, 1903.

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UNITED STATES Patented December 20, 1904.

VVILLIAM I. SPANGLER, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

R OTA RY EXPLOSlVE-EN'GINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 778,082, dated December 20, 1904.

i Application filed July 13,1903. Serial No. 165,268.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM I. SPANGLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Explosive-Engines, of which I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a novel construction of rotary explosive-engine in which any suitable explosive mixture may be usedas a propelling medium; and the novelty ofmy improvement will be more fully set forth hereinafter in the specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a front elevation of my machine.

Fig. 2 represents a vertical cross-section through the cylinder looking from the right Fig. 3 represents a vertical crosssection of the cylinder looking from the left Fig. 4 represents a cross-section through the cylinder and pistons, showing the rotary shaft in full. Fig. 5 represents a perspective view of the pistons. Fig. 6 represents a perspective view of the collar which is attached to the rotary shaft.

, Referring .to the accompanying drawings, 10 represents the base of the machine, upon which is suitably mounted the cylinder 11. Within the cylinder are mounted two similarly-shapedv pistons 12 and 13-, each of which pistons comprises a body portion which is journaled upon a collar 14, which collar is made fast in any suitable manner to the rotary shaft 15. Each piston has extending outward from opposite sides of its body portion piston-wings 16, 17, 18, and 19. 'The body portions of these pistons fit closely together made to overlap in the manner shown in Fig.

' 5, so that these wing portions fill up the entire width of the cylinder,.and the cylinder is thus evidently divided into four chambers. The outer portions of these piston-wings are provided with suitable packing 20 to prevent the escape of the gases from one chamber to another. The collar 14 is provided with notches 21, which notches are adapted to be engaged by spring-pressed plungers'22, which are seated one in each piston-wing, there thus being four of these spring-pressed plunger's and four corresponding notches in the collar 14. Mounted upon each of these 'plungers are pins 23, which pins travel in cam-grooves 24, formed in plates 25, fast to the sides of the cylinder, there being a cam-groove plate on one side of the cylinder to engage the pins of the two plungers of one piston and a sec.- ond cam-groove plate 25 on the other side of the cylinder to engage the pins of the other two plungers of the other piston. (See Fig. Seated in the circumference of the cylinder is a spring-pressed latch-pinBO, the inner beveled end of which projects through into. the cylinder in such manner that the. pistonwing may pass in one direction, but-will be locked from retrograde movement Whenthe latch snaps in behind the piston-wing.

Entering the cylinder at the induction-port 40 is a suitable induction-pipe 41' .to supply the cylinder with explosive gas, and this induct1on-pipe may be provided with any suitable check-valve. Leading from the cylinder at the exhaustrport 42 is an exhaust-pipe 43 Diametrically opposite the induction-port 40 are suitably insulated spark electrodes 44, there being two of these electrodesin an ordinary spark-plug on one side of the cylinder, so that the spark will pass through the gas inside the cylinder, and the electric current for these electrodes is supplied by suitable wires 45,. leading from the secondary circuit. The wires 46, leading from the primary circuit, are connected with electrodes 47, which are fast upon an adjustable arm 55, which is pivoted about the rotary shaft 15 and is movable for the purpose hereinafter to be explained. Fast to one of these electrodes is a make-and-break device, consisting of a suitable spring-arm of metal, which is engaged by the cam-plate 49, which is fast to the rotation-shaft 15, there being two projections upon this cam-plate adapted to engage thespring-arm 48.

The principle of operation of the machine is as follows: Assuming that the pistons are in position shown infFig. 2 and that the explosive gas has been introduced into the chamber between the piston-wings 17 and 19, then if the rotary shaft 15 and collar 14 are rotated slightly in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 2 the notches 21 will be brought opposite the spring-pressed plungers 22 of the piston-wings 16 and 17 and the plungers will immediately be forced down into engagement with the notches, thereby coupling this piston to the rotary collar and shaft. This rotation also carries the cam projection forward and forces the spring-arm 18 upward and makes the current in the primary circuit, whereupon a spark passes between the electrodes 1 1 and an explosion occurs in the chamber between the piston-wings 17 and 19. The piston-wing 19 is held from reverse rotation by means of the latch-pin 30, but the piston- Wing 17 is free to be forced forward under the expansive pressure of the exploded gas, and this piston thereupon rotates, with the pins of its spring-pressed plungers moving within the cam-groove until these pins come in con-- tact with the inclined surfaces of the camgroove, at which point the pins will be obviously forced outward, carrying the springpressed plungers out of engagement with their respective notches. Before reaching this point, however, the piston-wings 17 and 16 would have come in contact, respectively, with the other piston-wings, 18 and 19, and would have carried them forward, so that the piston-wing 16 would pass by the latch-pin 30 and assume the position previously occupied by the piston-wing 19 and the piston-wing 19 would be moved forward into the position of the piston-Wing 17, thus leaving the relative positions of the pistons practically the same. However, it will be apparent that while the piston-wing 16 is moving away from the piston-Wing 18 more gas will be drawn in through the induction-port 10, and, furthermore, if gas had previously been supplied to the chamber between piston-wings 16 and 19 this gas would now be compressed when the pistonwing 16 is forced forward toward piston-wing 19, and, furthermore, it is obvious that when the piston-wing 17 approaches thepiston-wing 18 the air or gases in this chamber will be forced out through the exhaust-port 12. In order to start the machine. then it is necessary to give the rotary shaft a few turns by any suitable meanssuch as a crank-handle 65, (see Fig. -1)during which rotation the pistons will be coupled up to the shaft by means of the spring-pressed plungers and successively uncoupled during the successive approach and retreat of one piston-wing from its neighbor, the explosive gas will be drawn in through the induction-port 40, and all four chambers will be supplied with the explosive gas. Of course during this time the spark device will be disconnected in any suitable manner, and then as soon as all the chambers are filled with gas it may be connected, whereupon the operation of the machine will be as heretofore explained that is, the passage of a spark between the electrodes 4 1 causes an explosion of the gas between the two pistonwings when the pistons are in the position shown in Fig.2 and if the rotary shaft is given a slight momentum the notches 21 will be brought opposite the spring-pressed plungers 22, as heretofore explained; butit is obvious that the piston-wing 17 cannot start forward until the notch does come into engagement with the plunger, since the cam-surface 60 of the can'i-groove 24 would force the plunger down against the collar 14 and would prevent the forward movement of the pistonwing 17. By this means the full benefit of the explosion is derived, so that the pistonwing does not begin to move forward until a short space of time after the explosion has occurred. However, this relativetiming of the explosion and the engagement of the plungers with their respective notches are dependent upon the position of the n'iake-and-l reak arm 18 with reference to the cam projections 50. Therefore by adjusting the movable arm 55, which carries the electrodes 17 and the make-and-break arm 18, the sparking can be produced sooner or later in the course of revolution of the shaft 15, and the explosion may therefore be made to take place simultaneously with the engagement of the plungers 22 with the notches 21 or before such engagement or after such engagement. It is obvious that when the engine is first starting it would be advantageous to have the explosion take place some time after such engagement, so that the pistons would have already been separated a little distance, and as the speed of the engine increases this spark-setting device may be moved backward, so that eventually the sparking takes place slightly before the coupling of the pistons to the rotary shaft, so that there will be perfect combustion of the gas before the piston begins to move forward under the force of the explosion.

As soon as the piston-wing 17 begins to move forward the gas in the chamber between piston-wings 17 and 18 is driven out through the exhaust, more gas is taken in between the piston-wings 18 and 16, due to the forward movement of the piston-wing 16, and the gas which is between the piston-wings 16 and 19 is compressed, so that when the piston-wing 16 forces forward the piston-wing 19 in the position previously occupied by the pistonwing 17 there is a compressed body of gas now in position to be exploded by another spark, which explosion takes place as soon as the other cam projection 50 makes the contact in the primary circuit by pressing upward the spring-arm a8, and at this point the new gas, which has been drawn in between the piston-wings 16 and 18, is now forced forward by the piston-wing 18 and is compressed, and the piston-wing 18 moves into latched posi tion previously occupied by piston-wing 16, while the gas previously exploded between piston-wings 17 and 19 is driven outthrough the exhaust-port 12.

upon the opposite side and will be sure to be forced downinto the notch. It will be observed from the shape of the cam-grooves 24 that there are four of the inclined portions 60, two of which serve to engage the plungers 22 with their respective notches 21 and the other two of which serve positively to disengage the said plungers from their notches. Furthermore, it will be noted that the camgroove at the two inclined portions 60, which constitute the point of engagement of the plungers with their'notches, as shown in Fig. 3, is slightly enlarged for the purpose of allowing the plungers to drop into their notches under their spring tension.

In order to prevent the heating of that por- 'tion of the cylinder which contains the unexploded gas,'a suitable water-jacket 70 is provided, which extends only over the upper portion of the cylinder, whereby the gas which is being admitted through the induction-port 40 and which is being compressed by the movement of the piston iskept at a low temperature, whereas the parts of the cylinder where the-explosion and expansion are taking place are allowed to remain l1eated,-so as to gain the full benefit of the expansive force of the gas. The rotary shaft 15 is journaled in suitable bearings 71 and has fast upon one side a fly-wheel 72 and on the other side a power-transmission wheel 7 3. It is thus apparent that by, means of these interlapping pistons and by alternately latching one of them from backward movement and coupling the other to the rotary shaft and then automatically uncoupling it I am enabled to produce a continuous cycle of operations, consisting of an explosion, an exhaust, anintake of newgas', and a compression, and thereby by a successive series of explosions impart rotary movement-to the shaft to which the pistons are coupled up, and at any instant it will be seen that the cylinder is divided into four chambers, which chambers, however, are merely relative in their position, the end walls of the chambers being formed by the wings of the successively-positioned pistons.

As will be observed in Figs. 2, 3,'and 5, the

outer Walls of the piston-wings are made con-- chambers in such manner as to bring a body of compressed gas between the pistons l9and 17 and a body of gas ready to be compressed between the pistons 19 and 16. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Inan explosive-engine, the combination with a cylinder and a rotary shaft, of two pistons arranged to rotate about said shaft and each formed with two diametrically opposite radial wings whereby to divide the cylinder into four chambers, means for effecting an alternate coupling and uncoupling of said pistons to and from said shaft together with means for latching the uncoupled piston against re- 1 trograde movement whereby to permit each of said four chambers to alternately expand and contract, means for igniting gas in one of said chambers, an intake-port for introducing uncompressed gas into the diametricallyopposite chamberwhereby the gas will be sucked into said chamber concurrently with the expansion of said ignition-chamber, and an exhaust-port for the chamber in advance of said ignition-chamber. v

2. In an explosive-engine, the combination with a cylinder and a rotary shaft, of two pistons arranged to rotate about said shaft and each formed with two diametrically opposite radial wings whereby to divide the cylinder into four chambers, means for latching the pistons from retrograde movement at one point in their revolution, means for coupling said pistons to said shaft at a point in advance of said latching-point, and means for uncoupling said pistons from said shaft at the latching-point, means for igniting an explosive mixture in the chamber between said latch ing-point and said coupling-point, an. intakeport for introducing uncompressed gas in the chamber'diametrically opposite the ignitionchamber whereby the gas will be sucked into said intake-chamber concurrently with the expansion of said ignition-chamber, and an exhaust-port for the chamber in advance of said ignition-chamber.

3. In an explosive-engine, the combination with a cylinder and a rotary shaft, of two pistons arranged to rotate about said shaft and each formed with two diametrically opposite radial wings whereby to divide the cylinder into four chambers, means .for latching the pistons from retrograde movement at one point in their revolution, means for coupling said pistons to said shaft at a point in advance of said latching-point, and means for uncoupling said pistons from said. shaft at the latchingpoint, said piston-wings being formed with concave pressure-surfaces whereby to inclose a body of explosive gas between the same when the piston-wings are in contact with each other, and said points of coupling and uncoup ling being so constructed that the piston approaching latching position will force the piston in advance of it into coupling position whereby the latter will be held until after the piston in the rear has been uncoupled from the shaft and the shaft has rotated to the position of coupling to the advanced piston, means for igniting an explosive mixture in the chamber between said latching-point and said coupling point, an intake-port for introducing uncompressed gas in the chamber diametrically opposite the ignition-chamber whereby the gas will be sucked into said intake-chamber concurrently with the expansion of said ignitionchamber, and an exhaust-port for the chamber in advance of said ignition-chamber.

4. In an explosive-engine, the combination with a'cylinder and a rotary shaft, of two pistons arranged to rotate about said shaft, means for introducing an explosive mixture of gas between said pistons, means for igniting the same, means for successively with each explosion locking one of said pistons against retrograde movement and coupling the other piston to the rotary shaft, and means for adjusting said igniting means to cause the ignition to take place at will before or after the coupling of the piston to the shaft.

5. In an explosive-engine, the combination with a cylinder and a rotary shaft, of two pistons arranged to rotate about said shaft, means for introducing an explosive mixture of gas between said pistons, means for igniting the same, means for successively with each explosion locking one of said pistons against retrograde movement and coupling the other piston to the rotary shaft, and means for adjusting said igniting means to cause variations in the interval of time between the moment of ignition and the moment of coupling said piston to said shaft.

6. In an explosive-engine, the combination with a cylinder and a rotary shaft, of two pistons arranged to rotate about said shaft and each formed with two diametrically opposite radial wings whereby to divide the cylinder into four chambers, means for effecting an alternate coupling and uncoupling of said pistons to and from said shaft together with means for latching the uncoupled piston against retrograde movement whereby to permit each of said four chambers to alternate] y expand and contract, means for introducing an explosive mixture of gas in one chamber, means for igniting said gas in another chamber, means for permitting the expulsion of the exploded gas from another chamber, and means for adjusting said igniting means to cause the ignition to take place at will between or after the coupling of the piston to the shaft, substantially as described.

7 In an explosive-engine, the combination with a cylinder and a rotary shaft, of two pistons arranged to rotate about said shaft and each formed with two diametrically opposite radial wings whereby to divide the cylinder into four chambers, means for effecting an alternate coupling and uncoupling of said pistons to and from said shaft together with means for latching the uncoupled piston against retrograde movement whereby to permit each of said four chambers to alternately expand and contract, means for introducing an explosive mixture of gas in one chamber, means for igniting said gas in another chamber, means for permitting the expulsion of the exploded gas from another chamber, and means for adjusting said igniting means to cause variations in the interval of time between the moment of ignition and the moment of coupling the piston to the shaft, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WM. I. SPANGLER. Witnesses:

H. O. \Voon, L. D. BAKER. 

